The GEM Road Safety Charity is open to applications for grants of up to £10,000 for road safety initiatives, with the window shutting on December 31.

The charity was founded in 1985 and has since funded many projects aimed at reducing the number of injuries and deaths on UK roads.

Trustees are encouraging applications from community groups, other charities, professional bodies, road safety organisations, partnerships and schools and colleges.

Neil Worth, GEM road safety officer and clerk for GEM Road Safety Charity, said: “More than ever, the Charity needs evidence that any award it makes will be used to support a well-researched identified need.

“Additionally, please include clear evidence of your project’s road safety benefit, and of the proposed wider impact, as well as a robust evaluation mechanism.

“If your proposal can satisfy these (and other) requirements, and you can show how you will keep people safe on our roads, then you will find the trustees enthusiastic to discuss how they may be able to assist you.”

Previous projects that have been awarded funding include:

• The award-winning ‘The Honest Truth’ is a national charity that was founded following one such fatal collision in South Devon where three young people were killed. Working with driving instructors, road safety partnerships, police, fire and rescue services and the military, they provide quality road safety education. The Charity made a grant to The Honest Truth for the redevelopment of their resources, aimed at learner drivers and their parents.
• A grant to the Sussex Safer Roads Partnership for its In-Car VR Project, an innovative 360-degree video aimed at young drivers and their passengers. Using behavioural change techniques, the film aims to highlight those risks and how they can be avoided to keep people safe on the roads.
• Funding towards the production of Blue Light Aware, a video resource offering simple tips on how to stay safe and legal when assisting an emergency vehicle. The first award was made in 2011, and a second version is about to be launched.
• A grant to TISPOL (The European Traffic Police Network) for its inaugural European Day Without A Road Death (Project EDWARD) in 2016. This was used to produce a selection of short safety videos and to host the inaugural seminar in Brussels. Project EDWARD won a Prince Michael International Road Safety award in December 2018.
• Funding towards a research project examining the contribution of roads policing to casualty reduction in the UK.

You can apply for a grant here -  www.motoringassist.com/gemroadsafetycharity

This push to get more applications has come during Brake’s Road Safety Week, which takes place from November 18- 24 and has prompted companies such as Driver Hire to support the scheme.